Lawn speeds around the country
[<<] [>>] by Nigel Graves
14th January 2002
(Other News)
In 1995 as part of a survey of club facilities by the Croquet Association lawn speeds were measured at a number of clubs. The measure used was the time taken for a ball to travel the full length of the lawn - 35 yards. Here is a selection of the results obtained.
| Bowdon | Hard | 14 |
| Harrow Oak | Firm | 13 |
| Colchester | Hard | 13 |
| Nottingham | Firm | 12.5 |
| Hunstanton | Hard | 11.5 |
| Roehampton | Soft | 11 |
| Nailsea | Firm | 11 |
| Bristol | Firm | 11 |
| Winchester | Hard | 11 |
| Bury St Ed. | Hard | 10 |
| Bath | Hard | 10 |
| Southport | Hard | 10 |
| E Dorset | Firm | 10 |
| Edgbaston | Hard | 9 |
| Leicester | Hard | 9 |
| Southwick | Soft/Wet | 9 |
| Cheltenham | Soft | 8 |
| Northampton | Hard | 7.5 |
1995 was an exceptionally hot dry summer, but I still find it surprising that English lawns seem to be faster than those in South Australia.
Jeff Billing comments: "I have just returned from Adelaide where I played 6 games at Victor Harbor (50 miles South of Adelaide) and I too was surprised how slow the lawns are compared to England (not measured just a judgement). I think the answer lies in the 'grass'. The grass in South Australia is much tougher than in UK because of the need to survive extreme heat (Over 40 degrees C) and minimum water. The grass itself is very coarse and seems to grip the balls whereas UK grass is much softer and does not grip the balls in the same way.
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